


Thank You, Ganiel

by DaniMeows



Category: Tortall - Pierce
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-22
Updated: 2009-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-05 01:08:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniMeows/pseuds/DaniMeows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Daine and Numair don't get together in the Divine Realms when they are supposed to Ganiel, Master of Dream, decides to interfere.  A matchmaking God, sweet dreams and nightmares. A fluffy tale for the romance loving shipper.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thank You, Ganiel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Beth_Ashke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beth_Ashke/gifts).



> I hope you like it Beth_Ashke. :-)
> 
> Canon only through the Immortals series because I've never read Protector of the Small.

Ganiel, Master of Dream, and one of the Great Gods, sighed at the scene before him. He'd taken an interest in both Veraildaine Sarrasri and Numair Salmalin, prior to their recent journey through the Divine Realms, and he was well aware of the secret desires of both their hearts. And yet... Still they acted as if they were nothing more than really close friends.

Numair would gaze at her, watch her as she went through her daily tasks and then he'd look away before he could be caught by the girl he watched with so much longing. He'd never allow himself to stare to long in places where he couldn't get by with pretending that he'd zoned out while thinking of academic subjects. That was what the secret locket around his wrist was for. He wouldn't allow Daine to find out just how much he loved and needed her. His fear was holding him back. It was quite irritating to the god who wanted them both to be happy. Since they deserved it for what they'd done.

Daine would watch the Black Robe Mage and feel a spark whenever their eyes met and held for a moment, or when their hands touched. She didn't fully understand her feelings and could never believe that her friend could possibly love her in that way. It was, after all, well known that he favored busty blonds and Daine possessed neither attribute. She felt that she was plain and common, nothing like the court beauties that he was known to favor.

When they hugged both of them lingered longer than pure friends would but neither of them seemed to realize that the other felt the same. Ganiel wished that he could speak to them and get them both to realize that they were in love. According to Shakith they should have revealed their feelings when Daine had fallen from the cliff and was nearly eaten by spidrens. Everything happened exactly as it was supposed to, except Numair never kissed her in desperate relief that she was still alive, after he'd thought her dead, and Daine had never asked how he'd found her. Without the kiss and the truth of his focus being revealed, Numair never admitted that he was in love with his Magelet. As a result, they were not together, the way that they should be and they were needlessly angsting over their feelings. Ganiel found this highly annoying and was making plans to make it stop.

The pair had ended the Immortals War and helped stop Chaos from taking over and he wanted the pair of them to be happy. Luckily the God had a plan. He'd send them dreams and break the chains that both of them had around their hearts, hiding their feelings from view.

He'd break Numair's control over his feelings until he confessed his love for his curly haired blue eyed student. He'd show him potential futures both the happy and the sad ones until he snapped and told her everything.

As for Daine, he'd show her exactly what that look Numair got in his eyes meant. He'd make her realize that she was in love with the older man. He'd get them together soon or else he'd call in reinforcements.

Numair Salmalin was not having a good day. He was looking forward to curling up under his cotton sheets and thick blanket and sleeping the rest of it away. His studies hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped and one of his experiments had blown up nearly burning his hair. He'd been sharply reminded that his secret love was fourteen years younger than him and that had been before the court function. A dinner and a dance.

Daine had looked amazing in a dark blue dress that emphasized how beautiful she was. He hadn't been the only one to notice and the boys had flocked to her. He'd watched her smile, laugh and flirt with them. Jealousy had burned him and a rock had lodged in his throat. He'd been unable to scare them away like he'd done in Carthak with Kaddar since she was old enough now and didn't need protecting. They were all at least ten years younger than him. Bitterness burned within him. He'd finally fallen in love rather than in lust with someone and they were much to young. She could never and would never be his.

He'd known, of course, that now that the war was over, they'd go back to the palace for a portion of the year and he'd be forced to watch others court his Magelet. Forced to watch another enjoy the pleasures of her company without being forced to disguise it as a lesson.

He feared losing the close relationship that they'd built up during the last four years since she wouldn't need a teacher for much longer. In truth, their hadn't been much for him to teach her about wild magic in some time. He hadn't expected the burning pain in his chest as he watched a younger man dance with her and kiss her hand gently. The ache of knowing that one day she'd be a wife and mother but never his. The pain of some other man loving her and having children with her burned but so to did the idea of him rejecting her because of their age difference. Pain seemed pretty much avoidable in this situation.

Changing into his sleep clothes, a pair of breeches and a loose tunic, he lay down and allowed his mind to drift into dream.

In his dreams, they lay snuggled in his bed, spooned together. His hand was draped possessively over her pregnant stomach. She was his and pregnant with his child. His happiness was complete.

"I love you, Veraildaine Samalin," he whispered.

"I love you too," she whispered, "I'm fair glad you told me how you feel."

The dream went fuzzy and shifted, and now he was in a not so pleasant dream. He was in a temple watching from the audience while trying to hide his broken heart as his Daine married another man. He was pretending to congratulate the happy couple and listening as Daine made plans to leave Corus for much of the year.

A year after that he was told not by Daine herself but by Alanna that Daine was with child. Later he learned that the man was abusive and both Daine and her daughter had led miserable lives.

The dream shifted and this one was both better than the last dream and worse. Daine confessed that she loved him and he pushed her away for her own good since she was much to young for him. Daine became depressed and hardly ate as they both suffered from a broken heart. He threw himself into the seduction of court women and married the first vapid busty blond that caught his eye.

Daine fled Corus and died much to young of a broken heart.

In his dreams the answer seemed clear. Tell Daine and accept her feelings and a happy ending for both of them. Never tell Daine and an unhappy ending for them both. Reject Daine's feelings and an unhappy ending for them both with Daine suffering from a broken heart. If he didn't act the dreams seemed to be saying he'd lose her cherished friendship anyway.

Should he take that chance? He felt sick at heart and in a way he wanted her to know. He wanted to stop wondering if she felt the connection between them as strongly as he did. To stop wondering if she loved him as much as he loved her. He wanted a happy life and to one day have a family with the love of his life. He wanted the happy ending for them both.

Dawn barely lit his room as the sun began to peek it's way through the night sky. He knew that Daine was up early so he dressed and decided to head to the stables to see if he could talk to her first thing. That way if things went badly he could grab Spots and flee for his tower at the Swoop.

When he arrived Daine was grooming Cloud as Kitten watched. Kitten trilled a greeting and Daine looked up and grinned at him.

"Good Morning Numair, you're up before the sun almost. That's fair strange for you," she said.

"Morning Magelet," he said. Nerves filled him but he carried on. "After you're done with the horses will you take a walk with me?" he asked.

Five minutes later the two of them were taking a walk. It was a beautiful day, but Numair could hardly focus on anything as he tried to figure out how to begin.

"Is something wrong?" Daine asked as the silence began to stretch out to long.

Unable to figure out a way to lead into it, he blurted it out, "Daine, I'm in love with you."

Daine looked at him, blue eyes wide with shock, and her mouth wide open.

Then she pulled herself together and looked him in the eye.

"I'm in love with you too," she said.

He kissed her then. A soft hesitant kiss at first, that grew into a passionate, longing kiss. There were still issues to work out and there was no guarantee that they'd live the happy life that his first dream promised but now she knew how he felt and she loved him back. Unlike yesterday, there was at least the promise of a happy future.

 

From where he watched Ganiel smiled as he turned away to tend to other matters and give the couple privacy. He hadn't had to interfere as much as he'd expected to. The exceptionally tall mage had just needed a nudge in the right direction. Matchmaking was one of his favorite hobbies and one of the things he was allowed to do with dreams. A God who could only speak to mortals through dreams needed a hobby after all and none of the other Gods and Goddesses wanted his knitted scarves much to his dismay.


End file.
